One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Zone 3b can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

Frost tolerance for oriental poppies:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant oriental poppies a little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Zone 3b is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oriental poppies and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oriental poppies may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Zone 3b. It might get as low as -35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 3b and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 3b you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3b.